Rasila Wadher: 1st Woman Forest Rescuer Has Rescued 1000+ Animals in 12 Years

Rasila Wadher had shot to limelight in 2008 as the first woman forest guard in Gir National Park, the last abode of Asiatic lions. Her exemplary courage in rescuing ferocious animals has drawn global applause.

Now, gun-totting 33-year-old Rasila Wadher is all set to head the entire rescue department of the sanctuary. In fact, Wadher will be the first woman to helm this crucial post ever since the department was formed 22 years ago. On an average, 700 rescue operations are undertaken in four districts - Junagadh, Gir-Somnath, Amreli and Bhavnagar - in a year.

Wadher, who has rescued 1,100 wild animals in her decade-long career, will now oversee these operations, which has become more challenging due to lions frequently straying close to human habitations. In Gir, she will be handling a team of 18 trackers, but her job is not limited to the four districts.

"Whenever there is a rescue call anywhere in Gujarat and there are no experts available, our teams rush to those places," said Wadher, who was promoted as sanctuary inspector two months ago. In 2008, Wadher was offered the posting in forest department's back office. But itching for a field job, she applied for recruitment as forest guard and got selected.

"Mine is a 24 hours job because you never know what would happen and where," said Wadher, mother of a nine-month-old boy whom she takes along sometimes when there is no one at home to take care.

Rasila was recently promoted to Forest Rescuer. She is now the head of Gir’s Rescue department. From having just one star on her uniform to now having three, from working as a subordinate to now heading a department, Rasila’s journey defines courage, dedication, hard work and genuine love for animals.

Wildlife Service Award: Rohit Choudhury ,Determined campaigner, activist and committed environment protector

The quintessential bookworm, Rohit Choudhury spends his days navigating India’s labyrinthine judicial system, dodging bullets both literal and figurative, to win legal battles for conservation. Born and brought up in Bokakhat, Assam, Choudhury’s contribution to his state’s rich and threatened biodiversity is both unique and unsung. A wildlife activist, he deploys the powerful Right to Information Act (RTI) to protect the biodiverse landscapes of the Kaziranga National Park, Manas National Park and a host of lesser-known Protected Areas. Extracting valuable information from reams of case documents and reports, he has committed himself to the tedium of careful reading and research that are critical to any conservation battle.

 He’s working to put a halt to the unregulated dumping of garbage from Guwahati city in the Ramsar Site of Deepor Beel; fighting the unlawful diversion of the Beki river in the core of the Manas National Park at the National Green Tribunal (NGT); and petitioning against the destruction of prime elephant habitats in the Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong landscape by illegal mining operations.

 His work on the latter resulted in the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) ordering a ban on all mining activities in the concerned landscape. Here, he has also approached the NGT to address the issue of roadkills on NH37, where dozens of wild animals die agonising deaths under the wheels of speeding vehicles when they try to cross the road. Choudhury also won a stay order on the illegal expansion of the highway from Jakhalabandha to Bokakhat. Perhaps best known for his heroic fight against the Numaligarh Refinery for blocking an elephant corridor, Rohit Choudhury faces threats from all those that he brings to task. Yet, this gutsy activist continues undaunted.

Source By: Sanctuary Asia

Himalayan flora-fauna in critical phase to global warming: Scientists

The total 19,600 endangered species of flora and fauna in the country, the Himalayan region is home to 133 which are passing through a critical phase due to changing weather patterns and massive deforestation, scientists warned at a seminar in Almora on Wednesday.

"Scientists maintained that if the global warming trends in the Himalayan region remain as they are, several flora species of fungus, algae and lichen besides fauna species like bharal, snow leopards and musk deer will disappear from Himalayan region," R S Rawal, Director of G B Pant National Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development that hosted the event said.

Massive deforestation, rampant conversion of agricultural land for construction purposes and the ever growing concrete jungle were held by scientists as the principal culprits for the changing weather patterns in the region, he said.

Flora and fauna in the 2,400 km long Himalayan range are passing through a critical phase as global warming is affecting the regional eco system most, he said.

Arun Kumar, Director of Dehradun-based Dolphin Institute said that the depleting number of bharal and musk deer in their habitats in the Himalayan region is a problem on which the new researchers in the field need to focus.

Scientists from several institutes across the country took part in the seminar including Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, Nature Conservation Foundation, Pantnagar University, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Kathmandu (Nepal), IIT Roorkee, Central Agricultural University Sikkim and BSIP Lucknow.

Making a special reference to the research paper presented by P R Ojaswai, Director of Dehradun based Indian institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Rawal said Ojaswai claimed that global warming has started affecting crops in the region as an increase of one degree in temperature has lead to a decrease in wheat production ranging between 15 to 20 per cent.

source by:TOI

India should take urgent action to tackle air pollution: WHO

India should take “urgent action” to tackle air pollution as the levels of toxic air in many cities of the country are much higher than the recommended guidelines, which could have a major impact on people's health, WHO director Maria Neira said.

Several studies conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO), Centre for Science and Environment and others published in journals such as The Lancet have linked pollution with premature deaths in India.

Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar recently told Parliament that there was no Indian study to show any correlation between pollution and shortening of lifespan.

"The studies conducted in India have not shown a direct correlation of shortening of life because of pollution. Let us not create a fear psychosis among people," the minister told the House.

When asked to comment on the minister's speech in the Lok Sabha, Neira told PTI "a very strong scientific evidence is telling us that exposure to air pollution is having a major impact on people's health."

"Independently of which methodology is used or what are the estimates, it is urgent to take action because the levels of air pollution in certain cities in India are very high, and this is definitely having impact on people's health," notec Neira, Director, Public Health, Environment and Social Determinants of Health Department (PHE), WHO.

"Therefore, we urge governments to take measures to reduce pollution, to reduce the massive damage this pollution is causing to health of their citizens, particularly in those cities where the levels of air pollution are far beyond those guidelines recommended by the WHO," she said.

A study published last year in The Lancet journal found that one out of every eight deaths in India in 2017 could be attributed to air pollution.

This study showed that India has a higher proportion of global health loss due to air pollution than its proportion of the global population.

Around 12.4 lakh deaths in India in 2017 can be attributed to air pollution, it said, terming toxic air a leading risk factor for deaths in the country.

The study also noted that the average life expectancy would have been 1.7 years higher if the pollution levels were less than the minimal level responsible for causing health loss.

WHO air quality guidelines estimate that reducing annual average fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations from levels of 35 microgrammes per cubic metre (µg/m3) to 10 µg/m3, could reduce air pollution-related deaths by around 15 per cent.

Source by : TOI

Lion mauls farm labourer to death in Gujarat's Amreli

    A 55-year-old farm labourer was savagely mauled to death by an Asiatic lion in Jira village of Amreli district's Dhari taluka early on Monday morning. ... The lion dragged him for nearly half a km and bit into his neck and chest, leaving him dead on the spot

     A farm labourer was mauled to death by a lion in a village of Amreli district on Monday early morning. Acting swiftly, the forest department captured the lion and initiated the process to send it to Sakkarbaug Zoo, Junagadh.

The deceased was identified as Kadu Bhilad, aged 55, a farm labourer from Madhya Pradesh.

Source by : Times of india

250 lions killed over past 5 years in Gujarat

the world's only abode of Asiatic lions in Gujarat under threat? The Gir wildlife sanctuary and its periphery have witnessed no less than 250 deaths of lions in the last five years. This has raised concerns over the safety of the big cats.

According to the May 2010 census, there are 411 lions in the state spread in the area of 10,000 sqkm. But according to 2013 statistics, lions are now spread in an area of 20,000 sqkm. Experts feel that the death of 250-odd lions is alarming. In 2012-13, the number of deaths was 48, which increased to 53 in 2013-14. Also, in the first three months, approximately 20 lions have died, including eight in accidents. Of these eight, six were run over by trains.

Experts feel that the increase in number of such cases is mainly in the category of unnatural death. This includes electrocution or falling in wells. Officials said that the death of 20-odd lions — over 40% — were because of unnatural deaths in the state.


READ ALSO: Lions outside Gir get radio collars 
Forest officials said "The death of 50-odd lions in the area is totally normal as the figures include that of the new born cubs where the survival rate was only 50%. Earlier, the maximum of two cubs were born to a lioness, but now the number has increased and it is on an average three to four cubs and hence the deaths are also more."

There are high turnover rates (20%) in high density tiger populations that is lots of individual can die if lots are present. As long as the population shows a positive growth, individual deaths are not a cause of worry for the conservation of a species that has numbers over 150 individuals. Besides only deaths of prime age lions are of concern, in cubs 50% mortality is to be expected. Old lions will die by one cause or other, so when we have over 400 lions large number of deaths is expected, outside of forests most lion deaths get detected and reported.

Therefore, unless population shows a decline (estimated by a rigorous scientific method) individual deaths are not a cause of worry," said Yadvendradev Jhala, a scientist with Wildlife Institute of India and a researcher on big cats.

Pride endangered

Year No. of deaths

2009-1045

2010-1144

2011-1237

2012-1348

2013-1454

Total 228

Figures from April 1 to March 31

Environment ministry to crowd source green ads...........

Seeking to involve the general public in its effort to create awareness over green issues, the environment ministry has decided to 'crowd source' ideas or creative inputs for its 'official' advertisements. Official advertisement of the ministry will now be based on ideas of the common man or experts from outside the government.

The ministry had successfully experimented with 'crowd sourcing' while bringing out an advertisement in newspapers across the country on the occasion of the 'World Day to Combat Desertification' on June 17.

The experiment was in tune with environment minister Prakash Javadekar's announcement on the 'World Environment Day' on June 5 when he promised to take several measures to end 'officialdom' in his ministry and promote decision-making with public involvement.

In line with the promise, the ministry had for the first time sought direct public participation in creating 'official' advertisement for any such event and invited entries ahead of the 'World Day to Combat Desertification'. The ministry selected from the entries and brought this out as advertisements in newspapers on Tuesday.

Officials said similar entries in the form of concept along with painting /designs/ captions will be crowd sourced in future for other occasions. "The best entry/entries will be used to develop communication product like advertisement/poster," said an official.

The ministry also decided that the winner of the best entry will be invited for the event and his\her contribution will be suitably recognized. The government will, while inviting the entries, come out with all details of the event for which it intends to crowd source the ideas.

"The ministry will, however, reserve the right to make changes as deemed fit in the original concept\design for development of the final communication product," said the official.
He said the changes would, at the most, be in the form of putting up pictures of Prime Minister and environment minister or any other minister on the final product.

Agra bans plastic bags to curb pollution..............

 With an aim to curb the rising pollution in Yamuna, the Agra district administration has decided to strictly implement the ban on use of polythene in the city. For the same cause, the municipal authorities have been asked to place barricades at Yamuna ghats to resist locals for throwing garbage and polythene into the river. 

In December 2012, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court ordered the state government to impose a ban on plastic bags across the state. 

Heading a meeting of senior administrative and municipal authorities on Thursday, divisional commissioner Pradeep Bhatnagar instructed the officials to place an immediate ban on the use of polythene below 40 microns in the town. 

Special measures have been directed to the civic body regarding the use and sale of plastic and polythene bags near Taj Trapezium zone. Orders were also passed to place wastepaper bins near the bathing ghats for people to deposit polythene bags and other waste. 

"The polythene nuisance has to be curbed as it was a major source of pollution in the city. Not only are the bags an eyesore, but their use is proving a major hurdle to clean up the city," said Bhatnagar. 

GC Upadhyay, a senior citizen and an environmentalist, said that the residents of Agra must rise against the use of polythene. People have to change their mindsets and life-styles and continue to pressure government agencies to implement the law. 

Agra produces more than 1,000 tonnes of waste daily. The Agra Municipal Corporation has so far been able to process only around 500 tonnes through various recycling ways. 

The Recycled Plastics Manufacture and Usage Rules 1999, several directives of the Supreme Court and the notifications of the ministry of environment and forests, ban the use of polythene bags under 20 microns.